


Bad Preppers; friendship and preparing for the end of civilization.

by bitterfish



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Disability, Disabled Character, Kix and Jesse only mentioned, M/M, Missing Limbs, PTSD, Prepper AU, Star Wars Modern AU, give us a minute to back track with the betaing, i got a beta reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29479620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitterfish/pseuds/bitterfish
Summary: A modern au where the Bad Batch are Preppers, 99 owns a military surplus store where they hang out, and Echo's healing after being medically discharged from his unit in the army in a new city. This should go great right?Eventual Crosshair/Echo. but it's a HELLA slow burn.Echo in this AU has lost both his legs about at his knees and his right arm. He currently uses a wheelchair and has a hook arm prosthetic. I am trying to be write him to the best of my ability, but right now that's a lot of google searches and 8 months as a PT assistant about 10 years ago. please tell me if I getting something terribly wrong.
Relationships: Crosshair (Star Wars: The Bad Batch)/CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo
Comments: 21
Kudos: 20





	1. First meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks foxika for betaing!

“Great job, Arc Trooper Echo. You can put those away, we’re done for the day”

Echo stopped lifting the too light weights with a tight smile. The physical therapy room was big, but had partitions that made it feel like you had a private room, something Echo was becoming very grateful for. He wasn’t happy with the pace his physical therapist was setting; far too slow compared to the fast paced do or die Arc training. But his previous requests to go a little harder was met with a lecture Kix would have approved of. In fact, a small part of Echo wondered if Kix had called her and warned her about him.  
She smiled back and started wiping down the work surfaces as Echo put the weights in the to be sanitized rack. “So, any plans for the day, Echo?” She kept her tone light, and if they didn’t do this dance after the past 7 sessions Echo would have thought it was polite conversation. 

“Jesse asked if I could find his favorite MRE for him. I thought I could pick up a bunch and send it to the guys.” He WAS talking to people, he WAS doing things. He just wasn’t making new friends, and he wasn’t going outside of his current routine. Echo avoided her eyes as he made sure the weights were in the exact right spot. She didn’t try to hide her sigh.

“Have you looked into the events at the VA? Or the YMCA if you want something civilian?” She paused for a moment trying to remember something. “I heard a few of the guys talking about a gun show coming to town next week.” Echo stopped avoiding her and was relieved to see she wasn’t staring him down today. He could take it, but he didn’t feel like it today. She was scrubbing at the same ink stain she tried to removed last week, and the week before.

Echo waved his prosthetic hand. “Don’t want to deal being shoved and pushed by strangers. And dealers getting leery with me testing their gear.” He ignored the suggestion of the VA and YMCA. He had tried a class at the YMCA and a group meeting at the VA. Both had him feeling as bad as he had the first month after the... Incident. He’d tried finding a job, but most places he wanted to work at weren’t set up for wheelchairs. Right now he’d been making extra money acting as a shopping service for military members. He know how to mail most things to most bases. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it helped out and he enjoyed making his brothers’ days better.

Echo watched as she forced herself not to sigh again, shoulders dropping in resignation. “That’s, a fair point. Sorry I didn’t think about that.” She stood up, threw the wipe and her gloves into the trash before pulling a new pair on. “That’s it for you mister. I’ll see you next week. Same homework as last week.” She smiled and waved him off. Echo nodded and waved back as he rolled out of his corner of the PT room.

Echo scheduled his next appointment and sent a message to Kix giving him an update on his progress, or lack thereof. Kix kept telling him to be patient, that he was making great progress. But Echo felt stagnant, again. He rolled out of the medical building, feeling the same listlessness he’d felt after past sessions. Thankfully Torrent had worked their brand of madness and came up with a car with the modifications he needed to drive. Apparently another vet who was a friend of a friend of Fives had bought from the company and recommended it. Echo had no clue how they managed to find it and get it sent to him. Or how they found someone to train him how to drive that damned thing. But he was grateful for the freedom, even if he felt like he had to do the limbo to get his chair in the back.

The drive to the military surplus store was long enough for Echo to start to wallow in his own misery. He almost went back home, but Jesse had given Echo puppy eyes asking for macaroni and chili MREs in the last vid chat. And no one in the unit could resist Jesse’s puppy eyes, even if he was an ocean away. Echo turned up the radio, maybe something good was on.

99’s Military Surplus was the best rated place Echo found in the area. That and it was the ONLY place that had Jesse’s macaroni and chili. The parking lot was empty besides a small sedan and beater pickup truck that was more scrap then truck. Echo man handled his wheelchair out and back together. For some reason it seemed to stick every third time he took it apart. After a little aggressive negotiation something clicked and it went together smoothly.

The door was propped open and a rudimentary ramp had been installed over a shallow step at some point, things Echo wouldn’t have noticed 2 years ago, but now he added 99’s as a possibility to his rotation. Hopefully the stock was as good as the guy on the phone suggested. 

The store was dim in some areas where the florescent lights had burned out. Echo saw a man with a black skull tattoo installing lights in one of the light fixtures. He fit the look of a military fan. Boot cut jeans, unbuttoned shop shirt, Rambo haircut complete with red bandana. Echo got as close as he could to him, but several boxes cluttered the walk way nearest the man.

“Hey, are you 99? I called yesterday about the MREs?” The man on the ladder didn’t respond, but another head popped out around the corner. He had an unfortunate receding hair line on baby face, framed by the oddest glasses Echo had ever seen.

“99 had to step out. I believe he will be back in 7 minutes, give or take 30 seconds.” The new man wore a black t-shirt with most of a skull on it. Echo noticed the man with the skull tattoo had the same shirt on under his flannel. Echo was surprised he even heard Echo through the massive headphones he was wearing.  
Echo nodded. “Do you both work here? 99 said he’d hold my order for me at the desk.” Echo scooted back a little as tattoo guy finished installing the new bulb. He climbed down and looked at Echo the first time.

“Sorry. We just help out occasionally.” He handed a box to the man with headphones. “This one’s trash, throw it in the truck. Wrecker may have a use for it.” Headphones guy took it with a curt nod and disappeared into the store, which was looking more and more like the standard maze of gear, boxes, and junk roughly organized leaving narrow passages.   
Echo tried browsing for a minute, but half the store was spilling into the already narrow aisles. Just as he was settling into the entry way, a large man ducked into the store carrying what looked like the front half of a Jeep. He was laughing at something as he carried it in and over to an empty space of wall.

“Hey Tech! Where’d ya go?” the large man called out. As he did he turned to look for Tech, letting Echo see the left side of his face was covered in scarring. His left eye was milky white beneath the scarring. “Tech! Come on, I wanna make it to bowling!”

“Stop yelling Wrecker, you’re gonna blow my ears out,” tattoo guy hissed as he winced from the booming voice. 

Wrecker smiled apologetically. “Sorry Sarge, forgot you were in here.” The bigger man shifted the jeep front as Headphones came back with an older gentleman. “Tech, come on! This is heavy!” Headphones(Tech?) looked up from his conversation with the older man.

“Sorry 99, I will be right back.” Tech rushed over to Wrecker, somehow obtaining a toolkit before he reached him. “Hold it up within the marks, Wrecker. I will have it mounted momentarily.” Echo couldn’t hear the rest of the conversation as they stopped shouting across the shop.

“Hello, are you my MRE man?” The older gentleman used a cane to slowly get around the counter. “I’m sorry. I’ve been meaning to clean up, but my legs aren’t what they used to be.” He had the telltale signs of a stroke on his face, along with an aggressive hunch. But Echo doubted he’d ever seen a friendlier smile in person the past few months.  
“I’m Echo. You have the macaroni and chili MREs? My friends have been begging me to find some.” Echo turned to face 99, nodding. 99 smiled again and pointed to a stack of slightly crushed boxes behind the desk.

“I just got those in. If you give the boys a minute to finishing hanging their newest art project they can help me ring them out.” 99 waved to the jeep front which Echo could now see had most likely been blown off the rest of the jeep, wherever that was. Tech was snapping something to Wrecker as they tried to hang the wreckage, which only made the bigger man laugh loudly before biting his lip and trying to hold his laughs in.

99 rang Echo up by paper, and then fiddled with his card reader. It took several minutes to run Echo’s card, most of which was Echo helping 99 to connect the card reader to the wifi. By the time Echo was checked out Tech and Wrecker were grabbing the boxes. Or Wrecker was grabbing boxes, as Tech started messing with 99’s outdate computer to see why the card reader had lost the wifi signal AGAIN.

“You got a ride?” Wreckers booming voice would have rattled Echo if he hadn’t spent so much time with Hardcase in his second deployment. Grief for his lost friend almost swallowed him before his wheelchair moving snapped him out of it.

“Don’t!” Echo snapped as Wreckers hand flew off Echo’s wheelchair. “I can move myself. Don’t touch my chair.” Echo glared at the larger man.

“Sorry. I just thought with-“ Wrecker flailed his free arm uselessly. A lanky silver haired man slinked up to Wrecker and caught the flailing arm.

“He thought you were an invalid.” The silver haired man glared at Echo as he chewed a toothpick. He forced Wrecker to give him one of the boxes. Hissing at Wrecker, “Doc said one more week, idiot.”

Echo felt his cheek burning at the insult. “Just put the boxes on the counter. I can get them.” Echo gritted out, trying to keep his cool. The silver haired one shrugged and dropped the box. Wrecker hesitated as Sarge, though Echo really doubted he was a sergent, threw a stress ball at the silver haired one’s head.

“Crosshair! Find your manners or leave the store! I’m not getting banned because you can’t people.”

Echo sighed as the big one waved on what to do. “Whatever just follow me with the other box.” Echo grabbed the box on the counter and settled it on his lap. He wheeled as fast as he could to his car. Wrecker jogged to catch up as Echo opened the back of the car and slide the first box in the small trunk. Wrecker passed the other box to Echo rather than put it in for him.

Wrecker shuffled his feet. “Look I’m sorry. I’m not good at talking. Tech says my noggin’s built for smashing, so there’s no room for anything else.” Echo inhaled and closed his eyes for a moment. He could hear his therapist telling him to let it go and educate rather than snap.

“You never grab a person’s wheelchair without their permission. Would you like it if a stranger picked you up and moved you without asking you?” Echo tried to look stern, not the blistering pissed off he felt. He saw Wrecker think for a moment.

“No. But that’s not really a thing for me!” Wrecker gestured to his mass. Echo noticed Sarge coming out to check on Wrecker. He visibly relaxed in the open air.

“Think elevator Wrecker.” Tattoo clasped a hand on Wreckers shoulder as he paled at the mention of elevator. “I think we all got off on the wrong foot. 99 said you sounded new to the city, and if you’re going to be coming here a lot, we’ll be seeing each other a lot. This is Wrecker,” He waves to the still slightly pale behemoth. “The guy with headphones is Tech, the silver grump is Crosshair, and everyone calls me Hunter.” Hunter, not Sarge, said as held out a hand. Echo shook it once to be polite. “If you give the guys and me a little time we’ll have inventory done for 99 and it’ll be easier for you to look around.”

Echo hesitated. He really didn’t want to hang around, but his unit had sent him a wish list. And a military surplus store would be the easiest place to find most of it. He hesitated a moment. “Sure, I’ve got nowhere to be today.” Echo looked around and realized there wasn’t anywhere for his to wait, except outside or in the doorway. “I’ll just wait here for a bit.” 

Hunter frowned before he followed Echo previous sweep of the parking lot. Then he seemed to come to the same conclusion as Echo. “Give me a minute.” Hunter waved down as he jogged back to the store. A quick conversation with 99, then a minute of frantic movement behind the counter. Tech popped his head out the door and waved them in.   
Wrecker floundered at what to do, before holding an arm out to say after you. Echo pushed ahead and was surprised to see they’d cleared out an area next to the counter. 99 had pulled out six cups and a tin of cookies. 

“I just put coffee on. Would you like some?” 99 waited for Echo to nod before continuing. “Do you like creamer or sugar?” 99 walked over to a small fridge behind the counter and pulled out a generic creamer. He placed it next to a small coffee tin that had sugar written in sharpie on the lid. He shuffled around and came back with a small stack of mismatched paper plates. 

“Creamer, please.” Echo settled into the newly cleared area and accepted a cookie. The shop was a whirl wind of activity as the four men worked furiously to count, record, and put everything back in its place. Wrecker and Crosshair were laughing or hissing numbers at each other, depending on who was speaking, each working faster and faster in an effort to top the other. It reminded him of his rivalry with Fives after a bit.

“They’re rough around the edges, but they’re good lads. Started coming here when they were in middle school. They check on me once a week since my stroke. Help me with the inventory I can’t lift and big jobs.” 99 smiled at the young men trying to clean up.

There was a rhythmic knocking, then Crosshair threw a folding shovel across the store to Hunter. Hunter looked up at the knocking, caught the shovel, marked something down, and put it away. It happened several times, always when something needed to make it to Hunter, who was furthest from everyone.   
“What’s with the code?” Echo asked after the fifth time something went flying.

The coffee pot chimed and 99 offered the pot to Echo first. “Hunter doesn’t like loud noises. Tech doesn’t either, but Hunter can get migraines.” Echo held out his cup and let 99 pour it in. 99 then quickly added coffee to the other cups, obviously familiar with the others tastes. The 1st filled to the top and set out with a biscotti. The 2nd only half coffee, the rest creamer and 4 spoons of sugar. The 3rd mostly coffee, with a little creamer and pinch of sugar. And the 4th filled almost to the top with 1 spoon of sugar. The last cup he pulled a seltzer out of the fridge and poured in. 99 passed the creamer to Echo, smile never seeming to leave his face.

“That’s, understandable.” Echo hadn’t met many civilians who got jumpy at loud noises. But Dogma had never been able to handle loud sudden noises after General Krell. Most of the soldiers who worked under Krells command for long periods couldn’t.

99 held out the tin of cookies to Echo. “Grab what you want before Tech and Wrecker eat them all,” he said with a wink. Echo heard Tech sputter and Hunter laugh as Wrecker looked sheepish for a moment. Crosshair rolled his eyes, but looked like he might be smirking.

“I gotta big stomach!” Wrecker proudly proclaimed. He set his tools down at the end of the aisle he was sorting. “Done!” He proclaimed as he pulled a short stool out from behind the counter. He took the mug with a little creamer and pinch of sugar. Wrecker stared at the cookie tin till Echo picked out 2 cookies and handed it over. 

There was a scuffle to the left and Tech dropped his tools on the nearest shelf before grabbing the tin at the same time as Wrecker. “Dibs on the Milano!” Techs hands darted in and grabbed his claim as Wrecker protested. 

“I got done first!” Wrecker looks forlornly at the now empty space in the tin, before grabbing a stack of chocolate dipped cookies. As Tech stuck his tongue out at Wrecker, Echo notice they avoided anything without chocolate. Tech pulled out his phone and sat on the closest chair like object, which in this case was a stack of boxes. Wrecker nudged closer to Tech so he didn’t undershoot sitting on it.

Hunter and Crosshair finished at about the same time. Crosshair grabbed two stools, as Hunter took the seltzer with a soft thanks. Crosshair kicked Tech’s foot and gave him the mostly sugar and creamer abomination. He then takes the black coffee and biscotti before sitting a bit off from everyone. Close enough to be near, but out of lunging distance. Hunter settled into the stool and slouched for a moment before sitting straight.

99 chuckled at their antics before taking his chair behind the counter. “What brings you to Kamino Echo?” The older man settled and accepted a cookie from Wrecker. 

Echo hesitated. He hid it behind taking a long drink from his coffee. Finally he gestured to his legs and right arm. “Kamino has one of the better military hospitals for prosthetics. My medic busted his shebs off to get me sent here after-” Echo froze, his mind shying away from the memory. He shrugged before shoving a cookie in his mouth.

“Ah, I go there myself. I retired out a little over 15 years ago. Kamino was supposed to be a temporary stop. I took over the shop to make some money, but then the stroke.” 99 shrugged ruefully. “Life sometimes has its own ideas.” Everyone looked a little gloomy at that. 

They all sat in silence for a little, drinking their coffee or seltzer and eating cookies. Tech and Wrecker bickered over the last cookies as Crosshair gathered the mugs and plates. Hunter grabbed what Crosshair couldn’t and lead him into the back. Echo faintly heard running water from the back. Tech and Wrecker finished the last of the cookies, and 99 threw away the crumbs and paper dividers.

“Do you think you can maneuver better now?” 99 asked Echo after the checkout counter was clean. Echo turned around to see that while he’d been talking to 99 the others had completely cleared the floor off. The aisles were still narrow, but a quick test and Echo fit. A little claustrophobic, but manageable. 

The others stayed out of Echo’s way. Tech was working on 99’s wifi with his laptop and his personal tablet. Wrecker had laid down on a cot in the back. Crosshair had found a bag of rubber bands and was trying to knock a cup off the wall above Wrecker. Hunter chose an out of the way corner to sharpen a knife. 

Echo was impressed. He found most of the things his unit had asked him to look out for, plus a few extras he thought they might like. As he turned over a rather compact mess kit he heard a sharp ting and a yelp from Wrecker. Crosshair snickered as Wrecker bolted upright in confusion. Echo snorted out an aborted laugh before continuing though the store. An aisle down he heard the ting again. 

Wrecker jumped up. “Stop hitting me Cross!”

Crosshair slinked off his perch. “I didn’t. Not my fault you rushed setting the mugs up.”

Wrecker marched up to Crosshair and got into his face. Crosshair puffed out his chest and jabbed a finger into Wreckers chest.

“Personal space, Wrecker,” he sneered before he was engulfed in a back breaking hug from Wrecker. “Let me go you SAVAGE!”

Wrecker laughed and gave Crosshair a noogie. “Not till you admit you were hitting me!”

Crosshair bristled and Echo swore it reminded him of a cat. “If I was aiming for you, you’ve have welts!” He hissed. Wrecker froze at that, thinking. Crosshair took advantage of the moment of weakness to stomp on Wrecker’s foot. Wrecker yelped and dropped him, letting Crosshair scrabble away. Wrecker started to chase Crosshair, and almost knocked over a shelf. As Wrecker stopped to catch the wobbling shelf Crosshair lined up a rubber band and hit Wrecker in the forehead.

“HEY!” Wrecker left the shelf to barrel after Crosshair. Echo watched as Crosshair ran into the aisle Echo was in, climbed up the shelf, ran to the other side of the store, jumped down, and ran out the door. Wrecker almost crashed into Echo, but doubled back to go down the next aisle. 

“Careful Wrecker, you know he keeps one of his old nerf guns in the truck,” Tech called out before Wrecker ran out of the store. A few seconds later Echo heard a thwap and another yelp from Wrecker. 

Tech, 99, Hunter, and Echo looked out the door or windows best they could. On top of the truck was Crosshair with a deep blue and neon orange Nerf gun. If it had been black, Echo would have sworn it was a sniper rifle. Crosshairs form was immaculate; Echo unit hung out with a few snipers once. They’d invited Torrent out to the range. Crosshair could have been one of those snipers.

“Is Crosshair retired military?” Before Echo could finish Hunter was doubled over laughing. Tech and 99 were trying not to laugh.

“Sorry,” Hunter wheezed “Sorry, Crosshair hates ‘regs.’” 

Tech nodded empathetically. “Crosshair has been training for the Olympics. He almost made the team two years ago.” Tech beamed as he spoke. He grabbed his tablet and gave it to Echo after opening a video. “Here he is at the try outs.”

Echo watched impressed. Crosshair’s grouping was tight and clean. In the clip Crosshair snarled after the last shot veered slightly to the left. His face smoothed back out to the scowl Echo had seen on him all afternoon. He stiffly walked back to the staging area and the clipped ended.

“We’re trying to get him to try biathlon. He’s athletic enough and Hunter can help him train on skis.” Tech looked to Hunter who shrugged. “But Crosshair insists his skis and technique are all wrong.”

Tech’s words are accentuated by another yelp. Wrecker had grabbed a trashcan to use as cover. In response Crosshair started aiming for Wreckers hands. Judging by Wrecker shaking his left hand Crosshair had gotten a hit.

99 looked at the clock. “Oh! Would you look at that. Time to start wrapping up boys. I closed 20 minutes ago!” Echo checked his watch, shocked to see he had spent close to 4 hours in the shop. He brought his extras up and placed them on the counter. Tech rang him up as 99 pointed things out and kept insisting they were less than the tags said.  
“You can’t give everything away 99. You have bills to pay,” Tech whispered quietly after the fourth price adjustment. 99 just smiled and tried slipping things into the bag as Tech tried to check Echo out. Tech noticed every time, pulled the item out, and rang it proper. Echo smiled and gave Tech his card when he finished. 

As Echo was waiting for his card to run Crosshair sauntered back into the shop, with Wrecker pouting behind him. He was covered in red welts.

“I thought he used a nerf gun on you?!” Echo stared at the pouting hulk. It looked like he had played paintball unprotected.

“I did,” Crosshair smirked. He grabbed a bag Tech handed him and gave 99 a quick side hug. “See you next week, old timer.” 99 playfully punched Crosshair’s shoulder as the younger man smirked.

Tech inspected Wrecker’s new markings. “Ah, Vera was in the truck. I am surprised the springs you added have not snapped her in half by now. If Officer Cody sees her again he is going to confiscate her.” The last part was almost a sing song as Tech gave 99 a wave good bye.

Hunter also waved to 99 as he hefted a gear bag over his should. “Take care 99. We got the lights replaced and the hole in the bathroom fixed. We’ll see if we can do a better patch on the roof next week.” 

“Yeah! Dad said he has some sheet metal I can take next shift. Should fix it up good.” Wrecker swooped in to give 99 a bear hug, making the older man laugh. “See ya next week!”  
99 waved good bye to them all as he locked the door behind Echo. “Thanks for stopping in, Echo. Come by anytime. I’m open Thursday-Sunday 10-6pm, sometimes Wednesday if I’m up to it.” Echo smiled at that.

“Yeah, I’ll try to stop by again soon.”


	2. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the Bad Batch and 99 are slowly becoming part of Echo's new life.

Echo was not staring. He was NOT staring, his heart was not clenching fondly at the newest addition to 99's store. There sloping from the door was a mini wheel chair ramp into the store. 

Ehco had gotten so used to the bump at the end of the plywood ramp, Wrecker had hastily installed when 99 had his stroke years ago. Tech must have helped Wrecker this time. Just a gentle roll up on to the shop floor.

The Batch completely missed his entrance, there was no clatter of the wheelchair forcing it's way up the small gap for Hunter to notice. But Echo found himself grateful for his sudden stealth. He eyes burned as he saw the new layout. The Batch must have been helping 99 all week. An entire rack had been removed and the rest of had been moved over slightly to fill in the gap. Echo’s fingers and hook didn't brush the shelves as he rolled down the closet aisle. Half way down he scrubbed his eyes with his sleeve to remove the burning damp from them. Thankfully 99 noticed him first.

"Echo! You're early. How'd your PT go." 99 gave him a slightly concerned look at Echo.

"Great. It went great. Doc thinks I should be able to try prosthetics in a month or two." Echo smiled wide as Hunters head suddenly popped into the aisle with Techs headset on.

"Shit Echo, I didn't hear you. We wanted to surprise you." Hunter removed the headset gingerly, tossing it to Tech.

Tech appear momentarily after the headset disappeared. "Echo! How do you like the ramp? Wrecker wanted to use scrap, but I thought the concrete would be smoother for such a short step." Tech started babbling about concretes properties verse metals merits for a little before Echo cut him off.

"It's great Tech. Barely felt it. I saw- I mean," Echo paused to control his voice. "Is this why the shop was closed an extra day last week?" Echo was grateful. Hell he was beyond grateful. After the first visit Echo had come a few times to grab MRE's and other supplies for his friends. When he kept coming, everyone started slowly talking to each other.   
Well that's not entirely correct,

At first 99 served coffee and forced conversation. Slowly they found common interests. The Bad Batch channel got brought up. That was an entire day lost to watching videos of the guys testing survival gear, giving survival how tos, and just blowing shit up and shooting things. Echo sent their channel to Torrent and Domino almost immediately. They were amateurish at it, but they had the knowledge. Mostly. The third video in Echo pointed out the way Tech made the pipe bomb was dangerous. Absentmindedly pointed out a safer way to do it.   
Suddenly the Batch was a LOT more interest in Echo. They started making a point of help 99 on Echo PT days, so they'd be at the shop as soon as Echo arrived. It became routine, PT followed by 99s till dinner time. Though recently they had started ordering take out towards the end of 99s work day and eating in the parking lot.   
The first time 99 joined them, but after that 99 would plead old age and hop on the bus home. It had led to a small shift in the groups dynamic, but a profound one. Slowly Echo was becoming a part of the Batch’s people. Not a part of the Batch, but someone like 99. 

Echo had a small, quiet freak out in his apartment at that. Thankful Captain Rex had called to check in and talk Echo through it. It was ok Echo was making friends. His unit would not abandon him because Echo made a few civilian friends. 

Echo snapped back to the present, realizing he'd missed most of Tech explaining what they'd all done.

"After it dried Crosshair pointed out the bruises you had on you hand after hitting the shelves and we realized the ramp was a good start, but we could do better."

Before Tech launched into the new floor plan Crosshair and Wrecker came in the open door and froze.

"YOU'RE EARLY!" Wrecker barreled over to Echo and leaned down for a hug. Echo reached up with one arm to give a tight side hug. 

Echo laughed at Wreckers surprise letting the man go. "Yeah my Physical Therapist was sick, so I jumped in on a group class that was finishing up. Didn't want to waste time getting someone else up to speed on my needs, so I bounced early. Oh, hey Cross." Echo waved at the taller man standing in the doorway.   
Crosshair nodded and went to set his bags on the counter. "Come on, Wrecker. You have the plates." The other man jeered. 

Wrecker jumped and ran over to set his bags down. The two quickly pulled out a meal from Echo’s new favorite take out place. Hunter had introduced him to the small mom and pop Greek restaurant. Something Echo was sure Dex was ecstatic about. Considering Echo ordered from him once a week.

"Dex said you seemed to really like combo 5. If you want something else one of us can swap." Hunter waved Echo towards the counter as he spoke.

"That sounds great," Echo rolled over to the tv tray Wrecker had brought to the store for him. "Did I miss something? Is it hug your gun nut day? If it is I really think we should have done something for Cross too."

Crosshair threw a stack of napkins at Echo as Tech tried to hide a snort.

"Watch it, Reg. Or I'll take back my vote." Crosshair dropped gracefully into his chair as he slid a bottle over to Echo. Echo raised an eyebrow at the bottle of (beer). 

"Ok, what’s up?" Echo jabs a finger towards Crosshair. "You NEVER share your beers. Tech had to trade you 6 of his hard seltzers for one of your last month." Crosshair reached over to take it back, but Echo held it behind himself. "No take backs!"

Crosshair leaned back and ripped open his take out container. "Techs pisswater juice is only good to trade with Padme for help with-" Crosshair froze for the briefest moment. "Work." He finished quickly before passing a beer to Hunter, Wrecker, and 99 after a short pause. "Can you drink today, old timer?"

"I've been waiting all week" 99 winked and took the beer. 

Echo looked pointedly at Crosshair, when that didn’t work he turned to Wrecker. Wrecker pointedly inhaled his Gyro to avoid Echo’s unyielding stare. Echo would have been surprised Wrecker didn’t choke, but he’d seen Wrecker inhale his meals often. Wrecker didn’t have a lot of free time. It seemed half the time Wrecker could only stay long enough for the food to get delivered or picked up in the evening.

Echo gave up and opened his lunch. Dex combo #5 Moussaka, Tzatziki, and pita. Dex always made sure to give Echo a corner piece from the tray. After a slightly embarrassing incident when Echo had made a distressingly high pitched happy noise one day at seeing he got a corner piece.

Echo popped the top off the beer, it was a pale beer he’d never heard of before. Echo briefly wondered if Crosshair got it at Dex’s, but Echo didn’t remember seeing it in the fridge the first few times he’d done a pick up. After the 3rd visit Dex started running his order out to Echo so he didn’t have to get out of his car.

Crosshairs Dolmas made the area smell strongly of lemon. He lazily ate one, not bothering to hide a smug smirk at Echo’s confusion. Crosshair held his beer loosely in his hand and leaned back, after he poked Tech’s food into Tech’s typing hand. Tech jerked out of his focus and put the tablet he’d acquired with at some point away. Tech opened the box of Pastitsio confused. Hunter swapped it out with a tray of Souvlaki and Techs face brighten.

“It’s been 6 month since you first visited, Echo.” 99 smiled at Echo, as he slowly opened his Greek meatballs. “The boys thought we should celebrate.” 

Hunter, Tech and Wrecker smiled as well, Crosshair rolled his eyes and clinked Echo and his beer together.  
“Welcome to the Bad Batch, Reg”


	3. friendship is showing off your abandoned quarry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Foxika for offering to beta for me!(I needed the help, thank you so much!)
> 
> The Bad Batch take Echo to their stomping grounds. Male bonding time!

Tech blinked at Echo’s kit; ear protection, water, and sour patch kids? The ear protection made sense and so did the water. They were going fairly far out. But Tech had never seen Echo eat sour patch kids before. Maybe they were for Wrecker? 

Tech watched Echo finish putting his chair back together with Hunters help, then transfer himself into it from the driver’s seat. Wrecker and Crosshair bickered as they pulled the ammo boxes out of Wreckers truck. Something must have set them off on the ride over. Tech had been surprised Crosshair didn’t take Echo’s invitation for a ride. But Crosshair had only mumbled something about making sure Hunter didn’t fall out the truck bed again. Tech had to stifle a laugh at that. Hunter blurted out it had only been once, but Echo didn’t seem convinced.

The Bad Batch’s range was an abandoned quarry about 2 hours out of town. Wrecker’s uncles used to take him shooting there when he was a kid. So when Tech had pointed out years ago they had nowhere safe to test their customized fireworks, Wrecker had surprised them all with the perfect test site. They only had to share it with the occasional drug deal and other gun enthusiast, though most of the towns gun owners now went to the gun range that opened up a few years ago.

Wrecker had come out with Hunter earlier in the week to try to find the most level path for Echo. But Tech could see they really didn’t need to. Echo had on a specialty glove to protect his hand with the all-terrain wheelchair he was renting. Tech was surprised to see Echo in his old military pants folded and pined up. The heavy jean jacket with a black shirt fit in with the rest of the Batch’s gear.

“Can you toss me my bag Tech?” Tech zipped the bag closed and threw it at Echo. “What now guys?” 

Tech settled his bag on his shoulders as Wrecker gave an excited bellow. He noted the flinch Echo made, but Echo recovered quickly so Tech put it aside for later analysis. 

Crosshair skulked out first to reset the targets and dummies they’d started leaving rather than spend hours taking apart and rebuilding every time. Others used them while they were gone, but they were built to stand up to the Bad Batch’s brand of fun. A few bullets and firecrackers didn’t do much to them.

Tech and Wrecker started pulling everything out of the ammo boxes and gun cases as Crosshair inspected the dummies. They had brought all their favorites, hoping to show off a little for their newest member, plus a few things one of Hunters clients had given him as a bonus on his last job.

“One’s busted. Jackass ran it over with a truck.” Crosshair picked up a muffler from the ground nearby and tossed it to Wrecker. Wrecker caught it and tossed it into the truck. Crosshair popped his neck as he strolled back. “Rest are good.”

“YEAH! Let’s bust some SCRAP!” Wreckers booming laugh filled the quarry. Wrecker hefted the grenade launcher off the table. “BOOM TIME!” 

Tech watched Echo rip open his bag and throw on his ear protection as Hunter ran through the safety checks with Wrecker. Tech smiled and sat on the ground next to Echo, sliding his own ear protection on as Wrecker stomped up to the makeshift firing line. Tech watched Echo’s hand tap erratically in anticipation. He caught Echo’s eye, and Echo gave a slightly manic grin in response to Techs smile. 

“Fire in the hole!” Wrecker bellowed as he shot the grenade. He missed the dummies but blew a hole in the ground 30 feet past them. Wrecker laughed as he passed it to Hunter. “YEAH HA HA!”

Hunter gave a soft chuckle before taking it from Wrecker. He popped off a grenade, only falling a few feet short. He gave a lopsided grin to Wrecker as he playfully shoved Wrecker’s shoulder, wincing slightly as the bigger man gave another booming laugh. Hunter adjusted his ear protection before passing the launcher to Crosshair.

“Not my style.” Crosshair’s lip curled in disgust as he passed it to Tech. 

Tech went up to the firing line and knelt. He carefully gauged the shot and adjusted to what he saw from Hunter and Wrecker. And missed by a few feet to the left. He sighed with a smile and passed it back to Wrecker.

“Not our day to show off it seems,” Tech joked with Echo as Wrecker missed the dummies again. Echo laughed and punched Tech’s knee.

“Maybe you should have started with something that isn’t an antique. Though I get state laws keep you to older hardware with grenade launchers” Echo teased as Tech shrugged. The Grenade launcher was Hunter’s. Hunter’s last job was giving a group of old army guys a ‘real’ survival camping trip. The man who booked with Hunter was so pleased that the next time he was in the area he dropped off the launcher and a box of grenades as a gift. Hunter said he didn’t ask, but he was sure the guy smuggled it home during his tour.

“My turn.” Crosshair knelt on the firing line with his rifle. Tech tried not to laugh at Echo’s double take. Crosshair had saved for years in high school to get his rifle. Since then it’s been his pride and joy. If you weren’t inspecting it in your hand it looked fresh from the factory, not that anyone ever saw it that close. Crosshair let Hunter fire it ONCE. Hunter fumbled it handing it back to Crosshair, and no one else ever got the chance to hold it.

“Is that a Steyr SSG 69?” Echo whistled. “Those aren’t cheap.”

“Yeah,” Crosshair settled in to a comfortable kneeling position. “And it wasn’t” Wrecker groaned in the back and Tech vaguely heard him grumble about getting snacks since Crosshair takes FOREVER. Tech didn’t agree, there was a mechanical beauty in how Crosshair shot. Tech imagined it was like meditation for Crosshair. 

After a minute Wrecker dropped a chair next to Echo and flopped into it. Tech raised an eyebrow at the duffel bag of snacks, but took a chip bag when Wrecker offered his favorite. Echo was offered the whole bag to pick what he wanted.

Tech saw Crosshair bite down on his toothpick at the noise, but didn’t say anything this time. A moment later the rifle cracked out a shot and one of the dummies had a new hole in its head. Wrecker roared his approval and Crosshair gracefully stood up.

“One of us has to look competent.” Crosshair said as he placed it on their staging table.

Tech couldn’t help but laugh at Echo’s dumbfounded expression. Echo recovered quickly and started pestering Crosshair with questions, as Hunter and Wrecker grabbed their favorite weapons. Tech got up to finish setting up the recording equipment now that the initial fun was out of the way. 

As he set up Tech’s thoughts turned to how they could incorporate Echo next time. He had been idly researching prosthetics recently. Maybe he could figure out how to 3D print something for Echo next time they all went out. Tech pulled out his tablet and laptop as the rest of the Batch bickered over something. This should be an entertaining enough project to keep him engaged for a while. At least enough time for Wrecker, Hunter, and Crosshair to show off and fight over who’s the coolest for Echo.


	4. Late for dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I'm not familiar with Walon Vau. I needed an asshole for Wreckers uncle and from wookipedia he looked like he fit the bill. So sorry if I messed him up. Thank you Foxika for betaing!

Wrecker checked his phone again. The cracked screen was the same as the last three times he’d checked it. He gave a frustrated growl and went back to the car he was supposed to be stripping parts from. He’d already pulled the battery, sparkplug, and timing belt out. If he got the brake pads out he could leave for the day. 

Tech was supposed to call when he was done with his meeting with a possible client, Wrecker hoped the fact he hadn’t called, meant the guy was happy with Tech’s work, not that Tech got sidetracked and was talking nerd jargon in large words that made people’s eyes glaze over. 

Wrecker got to the first brake pad and cursed. It was worn down to the metal, which meant the rest mostly likely were too. Wrecker pulled it out anyway and moved to the next one. The front brake pads where worthless, but the back 2 could be used. Maybe he could still get out before dinner.

“WRECKER!” Vau stormed up to the car Wrecker was working on. “One of your idiot friends is here. You better have that list finished. If you don’t I’m going to tell them to fuck off and not come back,” the man snarled at Wrecker as he invaded Wrecker’s personal space. 

Wrecker pointed at the box of parts on the ground next to him.

“I’m done.” Wrecker pushed Vau off him and shoved the list in his chest. “Only 2 good brake pads.” Wrecker squared his shoulders and pushed past Vau to get to part of the yard where he could see into the office. He caught a glimpse of Crosshair before Vau yanked his shoulder back and tried to sucker punch him. Wrecker shifted fast enough to take the hit in his back, rather than his gut. 

Vau laughed. “Better get those brakes tomorrow. Tell Emo to call you first next time or I’m going to shoot him.” Wrecker glared as he stormed past Vau. Crosshair had hopped the counter and was fuming towards Wrecker. Wrecker jogged to catch him.

“He hit you again.” Crosshair snarled trying to pull out of Wrecker’s grasp. Wrecker tightened his hand enough for Crosshair to freeze. Wrecker tried not to be too rough with the rest of the Batch. He’d accidently broken Crosshair’s leg when they were in middle school. It took Wrecker years to trust himself again, Crosshair had trusted him almost immediately after. It was the reason Wrecker trusted himself enough to squeeze. 

“Let’s go get Tech. I’m starving.” Wrecker tugged Crosshair towards the scrapyard exist. When Crosshair stood firm Wrecker caught his eye. “I’ll tell Hunter you put his bandana in the bait jar.” Crosshair rolled his shoulder with an dramatic sigh. He pulled to signify to Wrecker to let him go and fumed towards his bike. 

“Fine.” Crosshair shoved his helmet on as he sat on his bike. “Race?”

Wrecker felt a swell of pride at seeing the bobber motorcycle. It had come from the salvage yard. It was so far in the van it hit that Vau hadn’t seen it. Wrecker dragged it to the bunker at 2 in the morning and spent a year fixing it. It would have taken longer, but Crosshair helped him lot. At first Crosshair bitched and moaned about it taking up too much space while eyeing it with a touch of jealously, but over time Crosshair started helping Wrecker. Towards the end Wrecker would show up at the bunker to find Crosshair elbow deep into it, already half way through the work list for the day. It was worth all the overtime in exchange for parts to see Crosshair’s face when Wrecker dropped the keys into his hands. Besides, Wrecker had never learned how to ride a bicycle. 

Crosshair revved the bike impatiently and Wrecker jerked back into action, running to his truck and jumping in. As soon as Wrecker started the car Crosshair took off. Wrecker cursed and spun out trying to follow him. Wrecker could hear Vau yelling at him as he pulled away. 

Wrecker grinned and slammed the play button on the old cd player in the truck. Rock blared out the windows as Wrecker chased Crosshair on the backroads leading home. Crosshair took Wrecker’s favorite route, which always had mud massive puddles this time of year. Wrecker belted off key with the rock band as they flew over dirt roads, Crosshair’s bike soaring over every hill as they raced up and down the roads.

Crosshair skidded to a stop in front of the bunker first. Wrecker stumbled out of the truck laughing. 

“YO! You had at LEAST 4 feet of air that last hill. WOOOOOO!” Wrecker roared laughing still high from the thrill of the chase. Crosshair hid a small smile under his helmet, crossing his arms and leaning against the bike. He rolled his shoulders before turning the smile into a smirk and removing his helmet.

Hunter waved from on top of the bunker. “You okay, Wrecker? We though you got off hours ago.” Wrecker braced himself as Hunter jumped down with a tool box. Wrecker caught the other man with a grunt and set him down.

“Yeah. Vau was extra pissy today. Gave me an extra order to pull.” Wrecker shrugged as Hunter appraised him.

“Great timing. I’ve just got the solar shower installed, I was just fiddling with placement. Tech’s inside. We need to be quiet he’s still on call with the prick.” Hunter arched an eyebrow. “Think we can convince him to leave Tech alone for a bit?”

Crosshair nodded and took out a toothpick. Wrecker punched his hand and popped his neck with a roll. 

They all went into the bunker to hear a frazzled Tech. To anyone else Tech sounded a little curt, with in the stereotype of the lacking social norms nerd. But Tech wasn’t short with people often, he talked in length about anything he understood. Wrecker could hear the new client screaming at Tech about something. Normally Tech would have ended the call hours ago, but he hadn’t had a job in a month. 

Crosshair moved in first, throwing his helmet onto the moth eaten futon. He strolled about the room to the gun wall, and grabbed a shotgun and a cleaning kit. Then he dragged a folding table behind Tech on the other side of the room and started cleaning the shotgun. 

Wrecker grabbed two of his larger weights and stood next to Crosshair. He flexed showing off as much of his bulk as he could. Hunter had to stifle a laugh as Wrecker add a lunge to his reps. Wrecker fought hard not to laugh too, which helped by making him look like he was pissed at something.

Hunter pulled a chair up to the other visible side of the table, setting his knives and whet stone carefully on the workspace. Hunter relaxed, letting his resting bitch face do the work as he cleaned and sharpened his third biggest knife. No need to pull out the machete for this.

“I understand. Please let Mr. Tarkin know I will have it completed as fast as possible.” Tech paused as the other voice said something back. “Affirmative. Good evening.” Tech ended the call and closed his laptop. He slumped back in his seat and rubbed his forehead.

“That bad, Tech?” Hunter softly called out. Tech jumped in his seat at Hunter’s voice then spun around. He let out a snort and started laughing at the sight of them all gathered around a small folding table looking as menacing as possible.

“I was surprised at Rantu’s hasty departure. I should have known you all had gotten bored. You could have cost me the job!” Tech tried to sound angry, but Wrecker did another ridiculous lunge with the weights and Tech doubled over laughing. 

Crosshair finished cleaning the barrel of the shotgun and packed up the cleaning kit. Hunter did the same with his whetstone as Wrecker put away the weights. Tech reorganized his desk and made sure nothing sensitive was left on or out.

“It’s your turn to pick, Tech. Where are we grabbing take out from? I already told 99 we’d be late today. He told us to have fun without him.” Hunter grabbed their stack of takeout menus from under a table leg. Tech took it from him and quickly scanned through the dozens of menus.

“What about the reg?” Crosshair pointed out as Tech narrowed his choice to three menus. 

“99 said he’d tell him to come here,” Hunter replied as he looked over the three menus Tech chose.

“Hey, does Echo know where we live?” Wrecker asked with a furrowed brow.

Crosshair ran a hand down his face. “Even if 99 gave him the address we’re in a field of 100 near-identical bunkers.”

Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair looked at each other for a moment.

”I’ll go to the end of the complex and try to flag Echo down, Wrecker can you pick up the take out? Tech’s car is still in the shop.” Hunter threw his flannel on, the sun was getting close to setting and it got cold at night. He ran out to his bicycle and started pedaling down the dirt roads that made up the complex.

99 99 99 99

Echo was lost. 99 had said they were at a failed cold war shelter project that a civilian bought and was reselling individual lots as dooms day shelters. Echo had thought there might be 20 shelters max. He was wrong.

The complex was half dug in bunkers as far as he could see. The guard at the gate knew of the Bad Batch, but couldn’t tell Echo which bunker they were in. The place was a ghost town. He found an old vet at one of the bunkers and he also knew of the Batch, but also didn’t know where they lived.

After 20 minutes of driving around Echo saw Hunter furiously pedaling towards the gate. Echo leaned out the car to called for him. Anyone else and Echo would have just driven after them. But Echo had gotten used to Hunters uncanny hearing. Hunter braked hard and whipped his head around. Echo waved from the window and Hunter pedaled over to him.

“Sorry,” Hunter gasped out. “We. Really. Need. To exchange. Numbers,” he wheezed out. Echo smiled and thumped the passenger seat.

“Throw the bike in the back and I’ll give you a lift, Hunter.” Echo gestured to the back of his car.

“I don’t want to hurt your chair.” Hunter said shaking his head.

“That’d be pretty hard. It’s at home,” Echo grinned and pointed at his new feet.

“They came in! Did they get the legs you wanted?” Hunter asked as he ran to the back to shove his old bike in the trunk. It didn’t quite fit so Hunter shoved as much of it in as he could. “Go slow on the roads and it shouldn’t fall out.”

“No, but I’m pretty happy with the ones insurance covered so far. Hurts like a bitch to walk long distances, but the doc said that would go away soon.” Echo rolled up a pant leg so Hunter could see one. Hunter got in and looked it over as he buckled his seatbelt.

“Looking good. Tech and Wrecker are grabbing dinner. You want something?” Hunter pointed down the road Echo needed to go down. “That way then right in 5 turns.”

“Sure, what are we getting?” Echo asked as he followed Hunters directions.

“…I don’t know. I ran out when I realized you didn’t know where we live.” Hunter admitted while checking his phone. “Looks like they got pizza. Anything you don’t like?”

Echo shook his head. “I’m not picky.”

“Wrecker always gets extra for the rest of the week. So you can grab from the stash if you don’t want me to call them to add something. Turn here.” Hunter said as they reached the turn.

“I’m good with extras. How long down this road?” Echo asked.

“All the way to the end. Crosshair’s motorcycle should be out.” Hunter pointed to the very end of the road.

It was the very back of the complex, but Echo could see why they choose this unit. The back lots were spread out wider. More room to spread out if they wanted to be outside. The unit was labeled 99 and a flag of a skull missing its jaw was flying above it.

“Looks like we missed Tech and Wrecker. They should be back within an hour. Crosshair! Echo’s here,” Hunter called out to Crosshair as he got out of the car. Echo carefully judged the ground before getting out of the car. The ground was fairly uneven and Echo hadn’t had time to practice on anything but concrete and faux wood flooring yet. 

“Yeah, I’m coming.” Crosshair called from the bunker. He froze mid-step outside. Echo was too busy looking up the road they had just driven down to notice. Hunter on the other hand had black mail for months. 

Hunter had known Crosshair since grade school. To most people Crosshair would have looked a little startled. Hunter knew that Crosshair was gob smacked. Hunter saw that Crosshair was warming up to Echo faster than most people, but he had not realized Crosshair was nursing a crush until now. Looking back at Echo, Hunter could see it. The sun was setting and Echo’s skin glowed in the orange and red hues. Echo had a confidence in his stance they had only seen in rare moments. 

Then Echo turned and Crosshair quickly leaned onto the door frame looking bored. Echo smile and did a turn. Crosshair snorted and rolled his eye.

“Nice legs, Cinderella.” Crosshair quipped.

“Aw you noticed Prince Charmin!” Echo shot back, as he slowly strolled into the bunker. He walked in a few feet and turned back to Hunter and Crosshair, face full of worry and disbelief.

“Y’all LIVE here?!”


	5. movie night disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PTSD flashback warning. Thank you Foxika for betaing!  
> It's been pointed out that you shouldn't sleep in prosthetics. Tbh I wasn't thinking about Echo's prosthetics when I was writing the scene. I'm sorry I messed up, please feel free to(politely) point out things I've gotten wrong. I helps me to be a better writer!

“Ya’ll LIVE here?” Echo’s disbelief bounced off the concrete bunker’s walls. It was a fairly large room, more than enough space for 4 adults to crash and live in with the outdoor space. That was part of the problem, it was a barely furnished cavern. Echo saw 1 mattress, 2 sleeping bags, a futon missing its cushions, a small folding table with 3 folding chairs, an old desk that was covered in monitors and tablets, a plethora of mismatched weights, a mini fridge, and on the very back wall an armory with a loading table. 

“Yep, Almost paid off, too. We’ll be able to start putting walls in next year, hopefully.” Hunter pulled out a beer from the mini fridge and passed it to Echo. He took a warm one from a box next to the min fridge for himself. “Grab a seat. Wrecker and Tech will be about an hour or so.”

Echo took a folding chair at the table, as Crosshair pulled a beer out of the mini fridge. Hunter sat with Echo, but Crosshair leaned on the nearby wall. The silence that followed wasn’t inherently awkward. What was awkward was that there was silence. By now Echo was used to Tech’s nonstop information dump or Wreckers booming laughter. Hunter and Crosshair seemed to enjoy the silence for what it was. So Echo tried to as well.

When Echo finished his beer Crosshair took the can wordlessly. He walked over and droped it into a box half shoved under the futon labeled targets. 

“Want another, reg?” Crosshair paused at the mini fridge on his way back.

“I’m good for now.” Echo hesitated before breaking the silence again. “Why do you call me reg?”

Hunter snorted beer out his nose and spent the next minute laughing and coughing as Crosshair’s ears slowly turned beet red.

“What’d I say? He’s been calling me that for weeks.” Echo squinted at Hunter as he wheezed and let out a last few laughs.

“Yeah, Cross. Why do you call him reg?” Hunter snickered as Crosshair threw a full can at is head. Hunter caught it effortlessly, shaking his hand afterwards to try and relive the sting from it.

“You kept citing safety regulations the first time you watched our vids,” Crosshair mumbled from behind his bottle.

“He called you rules and regulation for the next week. By the time we saw you again he’d shortened it to reg,” Hunter cackled as Crosshair threw a shoe at him.

“Shut it, Hunter,” Crosshair growled as he took a swing at him. Hunter just laughed again and set his beer on the table. Echo kept his beer up as Crosshair and Hunter rolled on the floor fighting, Crosshair  
snarling and Hunter laughing.

“DINNER!” Wrecker belted out as he kicked open the door, carrying pizza and beer. He didn’t react to Crosshair and Hunter grappling on the floor next to a bewildered Echo. Tech walked in behind him with the other half the pizza order.

“Ah, what did Hunter say to Crosshair?” Tech asked as he side stepped the fighting duo.

“He told me why Crosshair called me reg.” Echo stood up and took the pizza from Tech to set it on the table.

“YOU GOT LEGS!” Wrecker bellowed in amazement, running up to Echo and dropping everything on the table, which wobbled under the weight, but somehow remained standing. 

“May I see them? Which alloy did you go with? Did your insurance cover the models you had been looking at?” Tech crouched down about to lift Echo’s pants leg, but froze when he realized he was being to forward again. “I apologize, you do not have too-”

Echo laughed and sat back down to make lifting his pants leg easier. “It’s ok Tech. Insurance said the legs I wanted were too experimental to cover. Doc and PT recommended these ones. They’re close to the ones I had my eye on, just heavier.”

Tech barely brushed his fingers over the prosthetics, as Wrecker pulled Hunter and Crosshair up in a crushing hug. Tech started mumbling to himself, writing notes on his phone as he studied them. Echo looked up to see Hunter and Wrecker laughing over Crosshair, who was bristling like an angry cat over something they said. Crosshair deflated a bit when he saw Echo start to chuckle over their antics.

“Pizza?” Echo said as he lifted a box open with a flourish. Crosshair flopped into a chair and found his pizza. Wrecker dropped a pizza next to Tech on the floor before settling next to him with his own pizzas. Hunter pulled his out before gesturing to Echo,

“Take your pick, Echo.” There was a shuffle as beer was passed around and Echo picked a meat lovers pizza. Tech robotically ate whatever Wrecker put into his hand and he continued taking notes, wiping grease off on to a neatly folded stack of napkins. Hunter kept smirking at Crosshair, whose hackles were slowly raising. 

“So, how did you find this place?” Echo asked, hoping it’d distract everyone enough to leave Crosshair alone for a little. Tech frowned and jabbed his phone angrily, lost to whatever project he was planning. Wrecker had a slice of pizza half in his mouth, though thankfully Hunter beat Wrecker to answering.

“School trip, the current owner gave schools tours of the facility while he was getting the permits he needed. We were studying the cold war and our history teacher found out about this place going private.” Hunter took a long drink of his beer with a wince and set it down away from himself. “Gave all of us brochures as we left. The teacher got most of them, but Crosshair managed to hide his.”

“You all were drooling over the bunker he showed us. Thought I was going to need a boat to get home.” Crosshair shrugged and tossed his can into the box across the room.

“The three of us all started saving the next day. Crosshair chipped in as soon as he got his rifle.” Hunter picked up his can and idly swirled it. “We were the only locals to buy in. Gave us a back lot when he found out it was going to be a bachelor pad.”

“But how do you live here? I don’t see any running water or sewage?” Echo waved to the bare walls and disturbingly open floor plane.

“It’s mostly capped off. We’ve got a well with a pump, but only the hose outside is working right now. Wrecker and I are learning plumbing and we’re hoping to get sinks inside before winter. The septic tank’s in, but we’re trying to find a water efficient toilet. 99 gave us a composting toilet he couldn’t sell. We’ve been grabbing stuff as we see it on the curb or at barn sales.” Hunter explained.

“The toilet’s outside.” Tech provided before diving back into Echo’s leg. “Behind the bunker, next to the shower. Oh, and thank you for finishing up the installation on the shower, Hunter.” Tech had taken off Echo’s shoe and was inspecting the maker’s marks on his leg now.

“Ok, where does everyone sleep?” Echo pointed to the mattress and two sleeping bags. “Don’t tell me Hunter sleeps outside.” Hunter’s tattoo may have hidden half his face, but the other half flushed at Echo’s words.

“Lean-to on the roof.” Crosshair said as he barked out a laugh. “Wrecker snores too loud.” Wrecker ducked his head sheepishly at that.

“Nose got karked up in the accident,” He explained with a wince. “It wasn’t so bad when we first moved in.”

“What happens in the winter?” Echo asked.

“I don’t sleep.” Hunter shrugged before trying his drink again. “I run a lot of winter survival camping retreats. It’ll be better when we can get the walls up. Part of the reason we haven’t yet is Tech figuring out sound proofing as best he can.” 

“I’m trying to find cheaper alternatives that we can make ourselves.” Tech adjusted his glasses. “Ones that are not a health hazard. I’m not putting moldy car seats in the wall, Wrecker.” Tech waved a pizza slice threateningly at Wrecker.

“It’s cheap!” Wrecker defended as he finished his first pizza. “We could bleach ‘em first!” 

Tech made a disgusted face. “No! We would not be able to fully saturate the foam enough to kill all bacterial growth. Remember the first one you cut open? Spores everywhere. We are all going to have lung cancer in twenty years.”

Hunter’s shoulder shook with repressed laughter at Tech’s rant. Crosshair rolled his eyes and Wrecker held his hands up in surrender. Tech would have continued on for a while but Echo cleared his throat.

“Can I put my shoe back on, Tech?” Echo asked as he reached out for his shoe. Tech looked confused for a moment.

“Ah, my apologies. I got a little lost in it.” Tech handed Echo his shoe with an embarrassed grin. They’d know each other long enough that Echo was used to Tech, but Tech was not used to Echo not being confused or offended. Echo hoped that would change soon.

Echo put his shoe on and stood up with a stretch. Hunter watched as Crosshair’s eye twitched at the sliver of stomach Echo unintentionally displayed. Tech also noted the interaction and logged it away to discuss with Hunter later. 

“Thanks for dinner, guys,” Echo said as he dropped his arm to his side. He looked at his watch. It was still early, but late enough that he shouldn’t intrude on the Bad Batch’s nighttime rituals. “I guess I should be going.”

“Do ya have to?” Wrecker looked like a kicked puppy as he scrambled up. “It’s movie time! My pick today.”

“Oh joy. Something intellectual,” Crosshair sassed as he settled into his chair kicking his feet up on the table.

Echo sat back down and took another beer from Tech as Wrecker pulled up an old spy movie on one of Tech’s computer monitors. Hunter poked at Crosshairs feet once, then grabbed a survival guide from the floor to read.

“You watch Double O Alpha? It’s classic.” Wrecker announced as he looked to Echo. He flopped on to the futon as he cued the movie up. 

“My dad preferred westerns. Stuff like Jango Fett and Boba. Fives loves new spy movies though.” Echo popped open the tab as the movie started. He quickly realized why Wrecker loved the old spy films. Lots of practical explosions and girls. 

Half way through Echo took a quick glance around. Wrecker was sprawled cheering on the futon with Tech perched on the arm, alternating between tearing the science of the movie and playing with his tablet. Hunter was half paying attention as he highlighted passages in his book and Crosshair was looking at Echo. He was being subtle about it, taking a drink and casting his eyes to the side without turning his head. Echo locked eyes with him and gave Crosshair an inquisitive look. 

Crosshair shrugged. “That rifle is garbage for that far a shot. He should have used-“ 

“BOO! No brains during spy night!” Wrecker cat called.

Hunter gave a snort and searched for another book off the floor. 

“You let Tech run commentary.” Crosshair hissed.

“He’s easier to tune out,” Wrecker replied prompting Tech to give an offended noise.

Echo smiled as they bickered. It reminded him of Torrent company. Jesse and Hardcase had similar arguments during Fives’ movie picks. He hadn’t been able to talk to any of them for a month, their current location didn’t have the infrastructure to make leisure calls.

The speakers rattled at a rather large explosion and Echo froze. His legs and arm burned as smoke and flames filled the Humvee. Fives was yelling something from outside as Echo fell out of the seat and crawled out of the car. He stumbled towards a door, why was there a door in the desert? Where was Fives?! Everything screamed in pain as Fives ran next to Echo, no wait, that was- Tech? Tech wasn’t in his unit.

“Echo, are you ok?” Tech had his pack and was reaching inside. Why did Tech have his pack? Echo curled in on himself in pain.

“Tech? Tech, we gotta move. I gotta get you out of here.” Echo pulled Tech toward the doors as another explosion rang behind them.

“Echo you know I wasn’t there. Echo please listen to me.” Tech let Echo drag him outside, digging franticly in Echo’s bag, before making a pleased noise and pulling out the plastic bag. He ripped it open spilling sour patch kids everywhere. “Echo, STOP!”

Echo froze as the sun and fresh air hit him. The backup Humvee should be nearby. They had to regroup and reassess the situation. Fives- no, Tech was talking to him again. He needed to focus!

“Echo, what can you feel? Echo? Echo, please listen.” Tech pleaded with him as Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker ran out of the bunker.

“What? Your track jacket. Come on Fives, we need to move!” Echo pulled at Fives- Tech. Where was Fives?

“Echo, tell me what you smell.” Tech coached him gently.

“Smoke and… grass.” Echo looked over the drive confused.

“What do you hear?” Tech took a handful of sour patch kids and placed them in Echo’s hands.

“Birds, a radio.” Echo closed his eyes and focused. “Your breathing.”

“What do you taste?” Tech pushed Echo’s hand with the sour patch kids towards him. Echo ate one and squinted at the sour taste. 

“Blue sour patch kid. I hate blue flavor.” Echo opened his eyes to take in the bunker.

“What do you see?” Tech looked concerned at Echo. They all looked worried.

“You, Crosshair, Hunter, and Wrecker,” Echo took a deep breath and collapsed to the ground. “I see the bunker, Wrecker’s beater, and Crosshair’s midlife crisis bike. I hear Tech, birds, and a radio. I smell grass, pizza, and whatever oil you guys use to clean your guns. And I taste kriffing blue sour patch kids.” He let  
out a shaky noise that may have been a sob. 

Tech crouched down. “May I touch you?” Echo let out another not-sob and nodded ,grabbing Tech with both arms. Tech made a pained noise as the prosthetic hook hit him, but drew Echo tighter into a hug. “It’s okay, you’re safe. The rest are keeping look out.”

Echo made another pained noise and tried hard to get himself back under control. He didn’t know how long they stayed like that. Tech seemed content to sit on the ground with him as he pulled himself back together.

“How’d you know what was going on?” Echo finally forced out.

“Your bag the first day on the range. I had never observed you eating candy, but there was a bag of sour patch kids in the bottom of your duffle. I found a site that listed them as technique to help ground someone having a flashback. I got fixated on PTSD research papers for a while.” Tech looked unsure and loosened his hold on Echo. “I hope you do not mind. I did not want to pry, but it seem prudent that someone in the group knew what to look for.”

Echo pulled himself off Tech and sat up, shaking his head. “I- thank you. That’s the first flash back I haven’t had to pull myself out of.” He looked guiltily at the Batch. “Sorry I ruined movie night. I-I should probably head home now.” Get out of their space, let them process what being friends with Echo meant. The baggage he carried. Echo was angry with himself for ruining his only friendship outside his unit.

“Kriff no,” Crosshair bit out. “You’re staying the night. ” He stalked over to Tech and Echo and gracefully folded himself into a kneeling position. 

“You’re one of us, Echo. No way in hell we’ll let you be alone right now,” Hunter said as he pulled himself down into a cross-legged position. Wrecker thumped down onto the ground next to them.

Echo didn’t say anything at first, but the Batch seemed to understand. They watched the stars, each of them slowly joining Wrecker’s sprawl on the ground. Echo feel asleep surrounded by Techs quiet mummers naming each constellation and retelling the stories behind their names, Wrecker’s snores, and a waking dream of Crosshair’s hand hesitantly carding through his hair


End file.
